canker sore (idea)

For many years, I tried rinsing with baking soda water or saltwater, which only kinda-sorta worked. Topical anaesthetics like Oragel and Orabase didn't last long enough and didn't help the damned things heal.

But recently I've discovered two things that have helped tremendously:

The trick with lysine is you have to take 1 or 2 tablets (500 to 1000 milligrams) right when you feel a sore coming on. If you wait until you've got a full-blown mouth ulcer, the lysine won't work so well. But I've found that if I hit an emerging sore with a dose of Lysine, 75% of the time it'll get completely knocked out within hours and never erupt.

I've found I sometimes have to keep taking a 500 milligram dose each day for a few days if a sore keeps trying to come back. Your mileage may vary with this treatment, and if you have any illness that affects your ability to process protein, you definitely should check with your physician before trying this.

However, I've found the stuff really, really works. It's gentle, and it works wonders on any kind of mouth irritation. If you regularly get canker sores, I recommend you give this stuff a try, though you may find it too pricey to use as an everyday mouthwash.

Peroxyl mouthwash -- I've found this hydrogen peroxide-containing mouthwash can help when Biotene fails. It's a bit pricey, however.

Nyquil -- find a small bottle of original-flavor Nyquil, the kind with an antihistamine, cough suppressant, acetominophen, and alcohol. Now, don't drink it (unless you also happen to have a cold). Soak the tip of a cotton swab with the stuff, and gently swab the canker sore and the area around the sore with it. The alcohol seems to kill the germs, and the antihistamine helps reduce the swelling, and the other stuff reduces the pain somewhat.

I have also heard that mixing a tablespoon of Benadryl Liquid and a tablespoon of Milk of Magnesia and swishing it around in one's mouth helps some people, but I haven't tried this one yet.